Twelve Little Duelists
Disclaimer: Koneko Tsuki don't own it, but she can dream!
"Speech"
---------------------- Changing character stand point
-------------------------------------------- Change in time or place
Warning: Character death...muahaha, gotta love the morbidness of it all! So, no flaming! They burnses usssss! Oh, there's also some rude language a la Bakura.
Useless Note: Aren't you glad I didn't put little Mokuba in this fic? I was tempted because I knew I could get some cute brotherly moments in, but I really can't torment Mokuba like I can Seto (He's tough, he can handle it...) So yea, that's why one of my favorite characters is not in this story, although my sister made a point that Mokuba as the killer would have given the story one seriously twisted ending.
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Chapter 4: Angelic Demise
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In the living room, Yugi sat huddled on the couch still crying for his best friend's death. Yami sat beside the boy, doing his best to comfort his distraught light.
Tea was seated on a chair, a large white pillow hugged to her chest, her faced was buried in its soft fluff, the only sign she was crying was the gentle shaking of her shoulders.
Bakura, in an attempt to keep his light from becoming dismayed or frantic, was playing a game of Monopoly with Ryou. Bakura shot constant suspicious glares at everyone present, his gaze softening considerably when his eyes fell on his hikari.
Serenity sat in a chair staring out the rain-coated window at the turbulent ocean below. There weren't any tears in her eyes, she was still in shock at her brother's death, she refused to believe he was gone.
Seto, somehow ending up as Malik's babysitter, was constantly entering the room searching for his charge, leaving again either because he couldn't find Malik or the cold glares from the others was making him uncomfortable.
No one said it outright--except for Bakura--but they all suspected Seto above anyone else. And just because the CEO had never gotten along with Joey. But they all seemed to forget the other deaths, okay, yes, Seto despised Marik, but he never had anything against Mai, she was a skilled duelist. And Duke? Sure, Seto had been angry with him the night he was pushed off the clock tower, but they weren't enemies, Seto respected the young man's excellent business and tendency to never back down.
Ryou, smiling slightly as he won the third round of Monopoly with his dark--he was unaware that Bakura had let him win--looked up as Malik raced into the room, skidding to a halt. Something small and silver was clutched in his hand.
"Looky what I found!" The yami-less boy proudly held up a slender dagger with a finely made hilt and blade. Bakura immediately recognized the weapon as one of his own, from his room, under his pillow to be precise--obviously Marik's hikari was a clever little picklock.
"Malik! No!" Yami jumped to his feet, but before he could reach the hikari, the dagger was gone.
Malik, a pouty expression on his face, glared up at Seto. The CEO gave the boy a cold 'I'll tolerate none of this crap' look as he held the knife out of Malik's reach. "You idiot! Do you realize how easily you could kill yourself or someone else with this!?"
Malik blinked, tilting his head to one side, pale blonde hair falling into soft lavender eyes, "Kill someone? Like you did the doggy?"
Seto's eyes flashed dangerously as he grabbed the front of Malik's shirt, the dagger just centimeters from the boy's throat, "You better watch what you say...or you'll be able to rightfully accuse me of murder!" He dropped Malik, sighing in frustration.
Yami, not wanting any sort of trouble or more bloodshed, took a cautious step toward Seto, "Kaiba," he held his hands out in a gesture to prove he was unarmed, "why don't you give me that knife?"
The CEO looked down at the dagger, "This?" He held it up into the light, idly examining it, "Why? So I can put myself at your mercy, you may act sane, Yami, but I'm not stupid. All the darks are as crazy as the Egyptian brat!" He shook his head, messing up his usually perfect chocolate hair, "There's no way in hell I'm handing this over so one of you can kill me with it!"
Yami was about to protest this unjust accusation, pausing as he realized they had done the same to Kaiba, he had every right in the world to suspect anyone else. Taking a calming breath, Yami looked up at the tall blue-eyed teen, "All right, I see your point. Why don't we do this? Let's put any weapons somewhere safe, where no one can be harmed?" He searched the eyes of everyone present, no one seemed to protest the idea of improving their safety.
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"No! I will not give you my daggers!" Bakura howled, a good number of daggers held in his arms as if they were precious pets. "You have no right!"
Yami and Seto, being the only ones who could possibly match Bakura's strength, stared at the thief with calm expressions. No matter how strong either of them were, they didn't stand a chance against a swift tomb raider, catching Bakura was like trying to catch a shadow, plus the white-haired yami was armed to the teeth with his many daggers. Everyone was relying on Bakura's number one weakness, his hikari.
Ryou, chocolate brown eyes wide and innocent, stepped toward his yami, "Please, Bakura. If we don't lock up the daggers, someone may get a hold of one of them and hurt me with it...do you want that?"
Bakura stared down at his sweet little hikari, cold dark brown eyes softening slightly before becoming cold again, "No! No one would be able to get one of these! They wouldn't be able to get past me!"
"Didn't Malik get a hold of one of them? And he probably thought it was just a game," Yami remarked, violet eyes narrowed at the thief, "but whoever the murderer is, it's no game to them. If they were determined enough, they could easily get one of those daggers."
The white-haired thief opened his mouth in a retort but paused, he had no argument left. With reluctance, Bakura grudgingly dumped the armful of knives into the thick black safe box Serenity and Tea had found in the kitchen.
Tea sighed with relief, "That's all the weapons. Even the kitchen knives are in there."
Yami's eyes grew wide as he was hit with a sudden memory, "Wait! That's not ALL the weapons!" Every eye turned to look at the Pharaoh--everyone except Seto, he had turned away from the porcupine-haired duelist.
"What other weapons are there?" Serenity asked, chestnut eyes showing no sign of light.
Yami pointed an accusing finger at Seto, "Kaiba has a gun!" All eyes, narrowed with suspicion or wide with shock, shifted from Yami to Seto.
The CEO scowled, not enjoying having all the attention on him, "Yea, I have a gun! Is it that big a deal!?"
"Yes! Considering one of us is the murderer, I'd say it's a pretty big deal!" Tea snapped, azure eyes glinting menacingly. The expression on her face was definitely intimidating and not a natural one for a girl so young and carefree.
Seto, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes, sighed, "Fine! I'll get the damn gun!" He turned to leave the room.
"Hold it!" Bakura growled, icy brown eyes locked on the CEO's back, "you can't go alone."
Yugi nodded, misinterpreting Bakura's words as being thoughtful rather than suspicious, "That's right, it's not safe."
Seto seemed to consider this for a moment, "That's true...that little psycho is running around somewhere, I'd rather not run into him alone. Especially since he knows how to get into locked rooms." He turned back to face the others, "So, who's coming with me?"
Ryou and Yugi both raised their hands, speaking in unison, "I will!"
A short laugh came from Seto, "Yea right, you two couldn't fight off a fluffy rabbit, let alone a killer!"
Bakura and Yami shot Kaiba warning glares. "Do NOT insult, Hikari!" both darks growled, exchanging glances with each other.
Seto sighed in frustration, muttering something under his breath. "This is just great, the one's that might actually be of some use to me are crazy, bloodthirsty or both, and the ones I might consider trustworthy are weaklings...I'm surrounded by incompetents."
"Why don't we all go, together? Then there won't be any problems," Serenity said, her voice hollow, completely lacking of any emotion.
"That seems logical enough," Yami remarked, receiving nods from everyone, "so, we all go together. Lead the way, Kaiba."
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In Seto's room, everyone stood in a semicircle around the tall CEO as he rummaged through his belongings mumbling curses under his breath.
"What's taking so long, Kaiba? Forgotten where you hid the murder weapon for your next victim?" Bakura drawled, a humorless smirk on his face, the sharp point of one of his fangs visible.
"Shut up!" Seto snapped, throwing his suitcase on the ground, "I had it in here. now it's gone!" His bright blue eyes darted around his room in search of any possible hiding place for the small pistol.
Ryou, eyes wide with fear, clapped his hands over his eyes, "What if...what if Malik got it?"
"Oh, no!" Tea--standing beside Ryou--gasped, both hands over her mouth, "What if he's the killer!?"
"Who's the killer!?" Malik chirped, suddenly appearing between Tea and Ryou with his hands over his ears. He grinned at Tea and Ryou, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil!"
"You idiot!" Seto shouted, lunging and grabbing Malik by the front of his shirt, "What did you do with my gun?"
"Don't hurt him!" Yugi, half expecting Seto to shake Malik, tried to pull the CEO and Egyptian apart. He was surprised at how gentle Seto's grip was on Malik's shirt--no matter how big the CEO talked, he couldn't bring harm to someone younger than him, especially when they were someone's younger brother.
Malik, giggling like a schoolgirl on narcotics, moved to sit cat-like on Seto's bed. "Dunno where the pretty silver toy is. I came to play with it, but it was gone and the White One was leaving."
Yugi tilted his head to one side, baffled, "The 'White One'? Who's that?" He looked around at his friends, trying to figure out who could possibly be called such a peculiar name.
Bakura scoffed, "He probably means Kaiba, because he's wearing a white trench coat." He fixed dark brown eyes on the CEO's flawless, custom-made coat, his thief's mind automatically summing up its worth.
"He could mean your hair color," Seto quickly retorted, turning back to face Malik. But the Yami-less boy was gone; slipped out of the room like a shadow. "Damn him! Damn him to Hell..."
"To Hell? We're in Hell," a soft voice spoke up. All eyes turned on Serenity, her normally bright eyes a brown so dark it could have been called black. She smiled a humorless smile, "How can one believe in Heaven when things like this happen? What did Mai ever do to anyone? Or Duke?" She paused, taking a shuddering breath, "Or Joey?"
Silence reigned in the room, no one had seemed to noticed that of all people to feel sorrow, Serenity had been the most hurt by the deaths. Mai was like a big sister to her, Duke was always complimenting her and trying to win her love, and Joey, of course, was her beloved older brother. Most definitely she had been hit the hardest by the recent murders, yet no one had taken that into consideration.
But also, no one had thought of how Marik's death had affected his already loony hikari, perhaps the Egyptian's antics could be excused as his way of cooping with the loss of his other half.
"S-Serenity..." Tea began, "you can't give up hope, you still have your friends-" She was cut off by a sharp glare from the chocolate haired girl.
"I don't need any of your speeches, Tea!" Serenity shouted, facing Tea with an expression on the verge of being completely hateful, "They may have helped people out of hard times before, but they didn't save Mai, Duke or my big brother! And they aren't going to help me now! So just shut it!!" With a disgruntled huff, Serenity raced out the door, hands over her face as she burst into tears.
Tea stood rooted to the ground, completely speechless for once in her life. Yugi gently patted Tea's arm in a friendly, reassuring manner.
A stifled laugh came from Bakura along with the muffled words, "Someone's PMSing..."
"Tea, don't take what Serenity said to heart," Yami advised, locking his red-violet eyes with Tea's crystal blues, "she is confused, frightened and grief-stricken, she cannot be held accountable for her actions."
"Like Hell she can't!" Bakura yelled, his hair standing up more than usual, "Everyone, even Malik, must be held accountable for his or her actions! If not, the murderers going to get off Scot fucking free and I won't have that! Not when my Hikari is at risk!!"
"Speaking of risks," Yami began, "we should be looking for that missing gun, and Malik."
Ryou nodded, "We should, it's not safe to let it go unfound. Someone could get hurt, even by accident." He looked at the five others, "Should we split up? We could go in three groups of two or two groups of three. Going alone is not wise, I suppose."
"That's a good idea, Ryou," Yami said, giving the pale hikari a small smile, "Yugi, Tea and I will search upstairs, Ryou, Bakura and Kaib-"
"That's not happening!" Seto interrupted, "There's no way I'm going with the insane tomb raider, he could kill me the second my back is turned, and the albino would do nothing to stop him!"
Yami sighed in frustration, Kaiba seemed to enjoy destroying other's plans as quickly as possible. "Fine. Kaiba, Yugi and I will-"
"But I can't trust Bakura!" Tea said, shooting a worried glance at the white-haired thief.
Bakura's eyebrow twitched irritably, "Glad to know I'm trusted around here..."
"It's not like you've tried to earn any trust, thief," Kaiba retorted, he was feeling slightly smug at the fact that the others had more faith in him than Bakura.
"Why the fuck would I want anyone's trust?" Bakura snapped, fangs bared.
"Enough of this incessant bickering!" Yami demanded, his eyes nearly slits as he glared at the tomb raider and CEO. "Now, Ryou, Bakura, Yugi and I will go together. Tea and Kaiba, you two find Malik, Serenity and the gun downstairs, while we search upstairs." The dismissive tone in his voice left no room for protest.
The two groups split up in the hall.
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Serenity sat behind a large armchair in the living room. Occasionally she heard Malik, Seto or Tea enter the room and leave again. She was purposely hidden from sight, she wished t be alone with her thoughts and this seemed the only convenient place.
Aina Tura, a sweet little girl Serenity babysat all the time. Aina always referred to Serenity as her big sister; the two had so much fun together. Serenity could recall the day Aina had died. They were at the beach, Aina wanted to go swimming, but the five year old just couldn't swim, she didn't have the strength to keep herself above water.
But if Aina had one trait, she was a persistent little child. After nearly an hour of begging, Serenity finally allowed the girl to play in the shallow waters. Serenity remained watchful for a good while until a handsome young lifeguard standing nearby distracted her. The pair had hit it off immediately, both sharing similar tastes.
Neither had taken notice of Aina wading farther and farther out to sea, eager to get a close look of the slumbering sea lion bathing on a large sunny rock.
And then the frightened scream came. Aina had alarmed the sea lion. The large brown beast slipped into the water, swimming large circles around the girl, herding her into deeper water where it had more room to move and examine its harasser.
Serenity had raced to the water's edge, ready to save Aina, but the lifeguard stopped her. He warned her that sea lions could be dangerous when provoked. He then dived in, swimming for the girl now a good ways off shore. The sea lion, bored with his investigation, had returned to the rock. By the time the lifeguard had reached Aina, she has blue from lack of oxygen, her small heart stopped for all eternity.
The police had decided the girl's death was a complete accident, even a trained lifeguard had been unable to save her from an angry sea lion. But Serenity knew the truth, if she hadn't insisted on flirting with the cute lifeguard, Aina would be alive and well right now. It had been her fault, no matter how much Tea, Mai and Ryou had tried to tell her otherwise, Aina's death had been Serenity's fault.
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Yugi, Yami, Ryou and Bakura searched each and every room meticulously, yet there was no sign of the gun. Tea, a look of fright on her face, appeared in the doorway. She was breathing heavily.
"You guys! We found Malik," she began, trying to catch her breath, "he had gotten a hold of one of the kitchen knives, so Kaiba tried to disarm him and got hurt-"
"He's not..." Yugi interrupted, eyes wide with shock.
Tea shook her head, brown locks falling in her face, "No, it's just a bad cut. Anyway, Malik ran outside and he's still got the knife! He was singing something about a shiny water gun. I think he has the gun!"
"Then what are we waiting for? We have to go after him!" Yami shouted, racing past Tea, Bakura hot on his heels.
As the five got downstairs, they found Seto leaning against the wall near the front door. Blood was visible through his the sleeve of his shirt from wounds in his right arm.
"Kaiba, are you all right?" Yugi asked, moving to the CEO's side.
Seto glared at Yugi, "I'm fine, but if you get that little Egyptian freak near me, he won't be fine!"
Yami nodded, "We're going after him." He quickly left the house, Bakura and Tea following close behind.
"Yugi, I think I'll stay here," Ryou said in his whispery voice, "I'm not half bad as a doctor when it comes to cuts." He smiled slightly, glancing at Seto.
"All right, I'll go with the others," Yugi replied, hurrying out of the house to catch up with his dark and the others.
"Okay, Kaiba, you and I both know that shirt sleeves aren't proper bandages," Ryou began, hands on his hips, "I'm going to get the first aid kit, you stay here." Without a further word or waiting for a response from Seto, the normally timid hikari left.
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Outside, Yami and Bakura--having somehow getting separated from Tea and Yugi--had managed to corner Malik in the tool shed. The violet-eyed boy had a bloody knife in one hand and what appeared to be a small gun in the other.
"Malik, just drop the weapons," Yami said slowly, hands held out in a unarmed gestured.
Malik shook his head, "No, they're mine, I found them." He grinned, continuing in a singsong voice, "Finders keepers, losers weepers!"
"You little bastard! Hand over those weapons this instant or I'll send you to the Shadow Realm!" Bakura growled, advancing on Malik.
"Nuh uh, my yami won't let you! He'll protect me!" Malik chirped, sticking his tongue out at the white-haired thief.
Bakura spat, a sneer on his face, "Idiot! Your yami is-"
"That's enough, Bakura!" Tea said, suddenly appearing and standing in front of the yami, preventing him from reaching Malik. With a small smile, she turned to face the armed hikari, "Okay, Malik, wanna make a trade?"
Malik's eyes narrowed, suspicious of Tea's actions, "For what?"
"These." Tea held up her pink cellphone and a candy bar.
Malik grinned, immediately stepping toward Tea, hands outstretched.
Tea pulled the candy and phone out of Malik's reach, waving a warning finger, "Nuh uh, you gotta give me the knife and gun first. Then you can have these."
"Okay!" The hikari didn't hesitate to hand over his weapons to the girl. With a content sigh he hugged his two new prizes close to his chest.
"Wow, Tea," Yugi breathed, catching up to the four in time to watch the negotiations, "that was really awesome."
Tea laughed, waving a finger at Yugi and winking, "Like Serenity said, he's like a kid, and kids are easy to deal with if you got the stuff they want."
"Tea...where's the gun?" Yami asked, looking at the two items in Tea's hand. One was the knife, made obvious by Kaiba's blood on its blade, the other was a water gun spray-painted silver.
Tea blinked, inspecting the items, "I guess Malik was telling the truth when he sang about a shiny water gun..." She laughed nervously. "We'll just have to keep looking in the house then."
A muttered curse could be heard from Bakura, who had hoped to get in a small catnap before it was time to eat since he had gotten no sleep the night before.
As the five entered the house, they found Seto in the same spot as before, Ryou beside him. The albino boy was just finishing wrapping a bandage around Seto's arm, tying the knot securely. Seto climbed to his feet with a sigh, examining the tightly--but not too tightly--wrapped tourniquet with admiration.
"What happened to you, Seto?" Malik asked, head tilted to one side as he gnawed on a lollipop.
"What the Hell did you call me?" Seto demanded, icy blue eyes fixed on the nutcase.
"Seto," Malik repeated, "it's your name isn't it?"
Seto visibly twitched as he attempted to keep his temper in check, "No one, absolutely no one, calls me by my first name except my little brother..."
Malik grinned, completely oblivious to Seto's increasing anger, "Then I'll be your little brother too! So now I can call you Seto!" He giggled cheerfully, clapping his hands together.
"That's not funny!" Seto yelled, lunging at the Egyptian. With a chuckle, Malik stepped out of Seto's reach before racing into the living room. With a growl, the CEO was right behind him. He nearly crashed into Malik as the boy froze in his tracks.
Seto followed Malik's wide-eyed gaze, his cerulean eyes widening in shock, "Oh, shit..."
"What is it, Kaiba?" Yami asked, standing on his toes to peer over the tall youth's shoulder. "Oh, Ra!" He stepped back, making sure to keep Yugi behind him.
Bakura, not bothering to be polite, pushed past Kaiba and Malik. Tea followed right behind him. With a scream she fell to the floor, her eyes growing to the size of dinner plates at the sight, "Serenity!"
Serenity was in the living room, her body pinned against the large painting of an angel by two long knives. There was blood everywhere, not yet dried. The young girl had not been dead long by the looks of it. The shattered remains of the small Marie the Fallen One lay on the floor in a crimson pool of its owner's blood.
End of chapter 4
Seven Guests Remaining
KT: That's the end of chapter 4! Who do you think Unknown is? Don't rule out anyone unless they've already been killed and make some guesses, little detectives!
Seto: How...how could you do that to Serenity!?
KT: Aww, you mad 'cause I killed the girl you had a crush on?
Seto: Sh-shut up!
KT: Isn't Seto-chan cute when he's flustered, readers?